reissue Archive
13 Oct 2023
Album Review: R.E.M. – Accelerate
Continuing on with my modern-day takes on late-period RE.M. albums – an endeavor inspired by 2023 vinyl reissues of those records – I’ll be less self-indulgent and only provide just […]
12 Oct 2023
Album Review: R.E.M. – Reveal
Imagine, if you will, that it’s 1984. You’re a serious fan of R.E.M., owning and treasuring their debut EP Chronic Town and the pair of albums they released, 1983’s Murmur […]
09 Oct 2023
Album Review: The Lost Generation — Young, Tough and Terrible
From Chicago in 1970 came The Lost Generation. Their sleek, sensuous and soulful sounds is in line with the growing symphonic soul movement of the era. Smooth, layered vocals from […]
04 Oct 2023
Album Review: Andrew Gold — Greetings from Planet Love
Andrew Gold never got the respect or recognition he so richly deserved. He’s best known for his hit single “Thank You for Being a Friend,” a pop tune from 1978. […]
16 Aug 2023
Album Review: A Produce – Land of a Thousand Trances
When it comes to ambient music, the rules are different. The qualities and values that can make a good song – melody, rhythm, hooks – are either wholly absent or […]
27 Jul 2023
Album Review: Ani DiFranco — Little Plastic Castles
One of popular music’s most refreshing and encouraging developments of the last couple of decades has been the rise of the independent artist. True, there have always been occasional artists […]
26 Jul 2023
Album Review: R.E.M. — Collapse Into Now
After the mixed reception that greeted 2004’s Around the Sun, R.E.M. seemed to rally with its studio followup, Accelerate, released four years later. Both critical response and sales figures seemed […]
25 Jul 2023
Album Review: R.E.M. — Around the Sun (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… Picking up after my last post’s lengthy contextualization, here’s my look at Around the Sun, newly reissued as a 2LP set. “Leaving New York” certainly comes […]
24 Jul 2023
Album Review: R.E.M. — Around the Sun (Part 1 of 2)
Artists evolve; that’s what they do. Unless they’re outliers (Oasis inevitably comes to mind as the exception that proves the rule), the music they make at the start of their […]
31 May 2023
Album Review: Marshall Crenshaw (s/t)
Music is a powerful emotional trigger. It’s widely understood that we commonly associate specific songs with distinct memories, and that connection between the two increases the vivid quality of the […]